The Heavens Declare His Handiwork

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Thomas Lee Abshier, ND
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The Soul: A group-consciousness arises intrinsically from the assembly of conscious particles, a phenomenon which gives rise to the formation of the soul.  

• The unique character of each soul is formed by the configuration of its constituent particles.  The mountains, stars, plants, animals, and oceans each express their particular pattern, character, and family of soul.  And the individual variations in size, mixture, location, and history all impact and form the individuality of the soul within a particular family, class, or type of physical organization (e.g. animal, plant, place, etc.).
• By introducing the concept of the “soul” as arising from the group consciousness of the underlying particles, we can now examine the implications of that concept, and see if it is useful in helping us to understand the phenomenon we see in life.  
• In High School, one of my philosopher friends, Mike Sherman, asked me what happened to the soul of a raindrop that split in half, or the soul of the plant which had a branch that was taken, planted, and grown to maturity?  What happened to the soul of a tree stripped bare of its leaves, the soul of the forest whose trees were logged or burned by fire, or the animal with an amputated leg?  
• After having defined the soul as above, we can begin to form new patterns of thought that may help resolve these childhood musings.  The soul of an object clearly changes as its structure changes; some changes are completely destructive of the essence of a soul because the structures destroyed are so fundamental to its essence; other structures and changes are superficial.  
• But, where is the essence of a soul?  Clearly there are superficial and deep factors that affect the soul.  For instance, the soul of a man is less affected by an amputation than a sex change operation plus hormones.  The man who develops his life into fine Godly character, and then suffers a brain injury that turns him into the town letch and debauch clearly has had a change in his soul.  But, what is the eternal significance of having been changed by an accident, versus the man who becomes debauched by a lifetime of choice.
• This distinction and hypothesis about the nature of the soul begs us to identify the defining aspect that generates a particular family to which the soul belongs.  In the case of the Periodic Table of Elements, the organizational distinction is based upon the number of protons in the nucleus.  This central force permeates the entirety of the atom and forms its external presentation.  And while the nucleus is so deep and hidden that the external world has little actual contact with it, that deep internal force exerted by the nucleus creates the environment from which arose the reaction possibilities available to the electron cloud.  Thus, the internal essence gave birth to the external structure and possibilities of interaction which gives the element its defining chemical character.  
• Likewise, at the center of living being is the pattern of the cell’s genetic code.  The entire organism forms around this central programming seed.  The genetic program creates a surviving, reproducing species, and the neural pattern and physical musculature and body shape and features reflects the uniqueness of the individual organism.  The genes pattern the gross structure, and the years of nurture, circumstance, and environment shape the individual’s nervous system development, metabolism, and countenance.  The habitual choices and involuntary reactions program the nervous system’s response to stimuli.  The circumstances challenge and the choices made become the habitual patterns that eventually strongly reflect a man’s individual character.
• Every location likewise has a soul.  Consider the unique feel associated with the mountain, forest, lake, stream, city, field, desert, ocean, continent, nation, planet, star, galaxy, and constellation.  A central organizing pattern exists around each of these “location-souls”, and variations in their size, location, composition, and neighborhood all contribute to the individuality of their character.
• The propagation of character from one generation to the next is seen clearly in the plant kingdom where a plant sprouts from a seed, grows into maturity, brings forth flowers, and ultimately produces seeds.  Eventually the new and independent entity matures with its strong family resemblance; having a soul clearly related to its heritage in both structure and behavior.
• Animals likewise propagate and duplicate their animal form.  Still, each is an individual as seen by the conformation of its metabolism, structure, and nervous systems.  And, while an animal may have a similar gross anatomy and genetics to all others in its species, the specific programming of the nervous system distinguishes the individual as unique and separate.  But, the programming of the nervous system is not an isolated factor that can be developed without interaction and influence from his metabolism, structure, and environment.
• Again, our working hypothesis is that a “soul” generates as a de facto group-consciousness as particles and forces assemble to form the panoply of vegetable, animal, and mineral species.  The soul of every assembly of particles is unique, and some of the deep aspects of that assembly may have great persistence through eternity.  Certainly with death, the structure decays and ceases function, but does the soul entirely die?  
• If there is an afterlife, then it only seems fair that some aspect of the soul-pattern generated by the work, service, thought, and dedication must survive the body.  Without a remnant of eternal longevity, this drama of character development would have any real cost and benefit significance.  
• Possibly the spirit, that point of consciousness outside of time and space, is shaped by the soul.  Or perhaps, the soul generated by a lifetime of work and crafting may be “saved” to the extent that it was in resonance with Godliness.

 

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